On April 25, 2025, the venture capital fund RockawayX announced the successful raising of $125 million for a new fund, focusing on supporting startup projects on the Solana blockchain. Although this network is witnessing a decline in user activity, RockawayX's move shows strong confidence in Solana's long-term potential. Will this investment help Solana regain its position in the Layer-1 race? Let's analyze in detail.
RockawayX Invests $125 Million in Solana: Strategic Vision
#RockawayX , a venture capital fund specializing in cryptocurrency, has raised $125 million to establish a new fund focused on early-stage startup projects on Solana – the second-largest Layer-1 blockchain in the world by total value locked (TVL). This fund will finance and develop projects aimed at boosting the growth of the Solana ecosystem, especially in the context of this network losing its allure.
CEO and founder of RockawayX, Viktor Fischer, emphasized: “Instead of investing in other Layer-1s, we focus on building applications on Solana and becoming early users supporting founders – from providing liquidity, operating solvers to hardware services.” Although the identities of the liquidity providers for the fund have not been disclosed, a source revealed to Decrypt that the Solana Foundation is a key liquidity provider.
The Journey of Collaboration with Solana: From 2018 to Present
RockawayX began investing in Solana in 2018 when it participated in the network's seed funding round. Since then, the fund has collaborated with over 15 projects on Solana, including Kamino, Squads, Exponent, and DoubleZero. This collaboration is reinforced by RockawayX's preparation to launch the Solana City accelerator center in Dubai, in coordination with the Solana Foundation and Helius Labs. This center will help RockawayX identify and support potential projects, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of $SOL in the blockchain space.
Challenges Facing Solana: Declining Users, Plummeting SOL Price
While RockawayX places great trust in Solana, this network is facing many challenges. According to DeFi Llama, the total value locked (TVL) of Solana has decreased by 30% in the past 3 months, down to $9.16 billion – a metric reflecting a decline in user activity. The price of SOL tokens has also fallen sharply by 41%, from a previous high to $148.26, according to CoinGecko. The main reason is the cooling off of the meme coin frenzy – which was a major driver for Solana in 2024.
Meanwhile, competitors like $ETH (despite struggling with the SOL/ETH exchange rate peaking at 0.082) are still working to improve with the Pectra upgrade (expected on 07/05/2025). The decline of Solana raises the question of whether RockawayX's investment can help this network regain its form.
Long-Term Potential: Can Solana Swim Against the Tide?
Although Solana is facing difficulties, RockawayX's $125 million investment brings many positive prospects:
Supporting the ecosystem: The fund will finance startup projects, from DeFi, infrastructure to decentralized networks, helping Solana build a more diverse and sustainable ecosystem.
Enhancing innovation: The Solana City center in Dubai will be a launchpad for new projects, attracting developers and investors, thereby boosting activity on the network.
Institutional confidence: RockawayX is not the only organization investing in Solana. Previously, Upexi raised $100 million to accumulate SOL, while Rakurai raised $3 million to improve staking on Solana. These moves indicate long-term confidence in the potential of the network.
Comparison With the Broader Market
The crypto market is currently experiencing many positive developments. Bitcoin is fluctuating around $85,000, supported by major institutions like Strategy (531,644 BTC) and Metaplanet (4,855 $BTC ). Institutional capital continues to flow into Bitcoin, with “whales” absorbing more than 300% of the annual supply. Meanwhile, Solana, despite its price drop, still holds the position of the second-largest Layer-1 by TVL, showing strong competitive potential if it can overcome its current difficulties.
Conclusion: Will Solana Regain Its Position?
RockawayX's $125 million investment in Solana is a strong signal, showing confidence in the long-term potential of this network, despite declining users and the SOL price plummeting 41% to $148.26. With support from the Solana Foundation, the Solana City center in Dubai, and projects like Kamino, Squads, Solana has the opportunity to regain its form in the Layer-1 race. Investors should closely monitor to seize opportunities as this ecosystem recovers and grows in the near future.
Risk Warning: Crypto investments carry high risks due to price volatility and legal uncertainties. Please consider carefully before participating.